Stricklybojack, I have one of those smaller machines you described as well! Until last month I didn't even know they existed. I saw it on Craigslist, saw the unusual lid with the tools set into recesses cast into the lid instead of on a detachable tool tray and thought, oh cool, another version of the big canister. Imagine my surprise when I opened the box and found this 3/4 scale version of the bigger vac. Wow, I bought something I didn't even realize existed.
It was grungy, rusty (the fan housing was bright orange) and the left side of the handle was broken off the body. You can see the after photos in my thread titled "Swamp Creature". Does yours have the smaller 12 inch wide Powermate? I haven't attacked that yet. I am waiting on a new base plate to arrive. The original base was broken in two places. Amazingly Sears still has a few parts on hand for them. I think a version of that brush soldiers on as a 12 inch wide Centec floor brush.
I would dearly love to find one more of the smaller ones with an unbroken handle in better shape. Mine looks good now, it came out real nice, but the handle repair will never match the strength of the original. I ended up having to paint the whole main body and steel motor covers to get it to look like something, but the repair could not be hidden completely.
